Obesity 'could bankrupt' NHS

Unless treatment improves, obesity could bankrupt the NHS, a recently published report has claimed.

The report, published in the British Medical Journal, said that obesity causes diseases like diabetes, liver disease, back pain and high blood pressure.

Professor Naveed Sattar of Glasgow University, one of the co-authors of the report, said that so far efforts to combat obesity have been largely ineffectual.

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Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Sattar said: "Once your body mass index goes above 25, which is effectively being overweight, and not even at the level of obesity, risks do increase.

"We need to start thinking in real terms what will really generally work and what generally is the cause."

Earlier this week the National Institute for Clinical Excellence published guidelines delineating how schools, employers and local authorities can battle the problem of obesity.

Among the recommendations are that local authorities should provide safe, open areas for children to have physical activity.

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